NFL and Former Players Reach $765 Million Settlement on Concussions

The National Football League and its former players have reached a settlement regarding concussion-related injuries, avoiding what could have been years of court battles. The league will pay out $765 million to its former players.

The federal judge made the announcement on Thursday that the lawsuit brought by 4,500 former players had reached its end. The suit had been in mediation for months and, had it continued, would likely have cost the league far more and made many more of the details available to the public.

The players claimed that they suffered from various medical issues—including dementia, Alzheimer's disease, A.L.S. and more—directly related to football activity, and that the NFL knew about these dangers and did nothing. The settlement does not reveal what the league did or did not know.

Payouts will begin in several months, with half of the money going out in the first three years, the remainder over the course of the next 17. Funds will be available to any of the NFL's 12,000 retired players, not just those who brought the suit.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Christopher Seeger, had this to say: "The big picture was we got immediate care to the retired players, and I think we accomplished that."